Also in the program of the 29th SIFF are Mika Kaurismäki’s "Long Good Thursday" and the new film "Diamonds" by Ferzan Özpetek
Danis Tanović has been connected with the history of Sofia International Film Festival ever since our first festival award—an award inspired by the prestigious Oscar for a foreign language film given to No Man’s Land in 2002. After the screening of his latest film My Late Summer in the competition programs at Palm Springs and Warsaw, the Bulgarian audience will have the opportunity to see it on the big screen in March.
A romantic comedy with dramatic elements set on a beautiful Croatian island, this co-production between Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, and Romania was selected to open the festival in Sarajevo. The film is dedicated to the love that can take root in the hearts of its characters in unexpected situations—far from home, after a chance encounter, under the sunlit rays of the golden end of summer. And as often happens in such circumstances, reality proves to be complex and confusing, with seemingly insignificant events capable of shattering the fragile bonds among some of the island’s inhabitants.
For over a decade, the hero from the novels of Finnish writer Tuomas Kyrö, known as The Grump, has embarked on intriguing adventures with amusing twists of fate. Directors such as Dome Karukoski, Tiina Lymi, and Mika Kaurismäki have previously worked with this character, and now he returns to the series in Kaurismäki’s latest work Long Good Thursday. As it turns out, Cupid’s arrows can pierce even an ordinary flannel shirt—no matter that it is worn by a stubborn elderly gentleman. When a vivacious, freedom-loving peer of his enters his life with the intention of using him as a model for her photographs, his relationships with his sons change, as does the way the old man perceives the world.
The films of the renowned master Mika Kaurismäki offer a glimpse into an honest, humorously vibrant, yet extremely heartfelt Finland and its unforgettable characters. Long Good Thursday won the festival’s most prestigious prize—the Audience Award at the Chicago festival—and was also featured in the programs of the Tallinn festival “Black Nights” and Lübeck’s “Northern Film Days” 2024. In the lead female role, actress Jaana Saarinen shines; she will personally present the film in Sofia and serve as a member of the festival’s International Jury.
With an impressive 28-year career as a screenwriter and director in the film industry, Ferzan Özpetek is well known among festival professionals and audiences throughout Europe and the world. After his debut Hamam in 1997, which premiered at the Quinzaine des Realisateurs in Cannes, his 15 feature films—each premiering at established international festivals—have earned him over 80 awards and just as many nominations worldwide. In a television interview a few years ago, pop music queen Madonna called him a “true genius,” and his latest spectacular work Diamonds further proves his impeccable ability to evoke entire eras through cinematic storytelling.
This story is about a director who gathers his favorite actresses on a film set in Rome during the 1970s, and then mishaps ensue around the preparation of costumes with the involvement of renowned tailoring masters. The film contains a little bit of everything—drama and comedic touches, friendship and rivalry, profound losses, love, nostalgia for the past, music, and dance—as one would expect from a Özpetek film. This work, featuring dazzling heroines, is dedicated to three “diamonds” of Italian cinema: Mariangela Melato, Virna Lisi, and Monica Vitti.
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